Awka – The Nigerian Military has appealed to the Nigerian media to continue to project the image of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) positively, by leveraging its capacity to change the negative perception and narrative following the security situation in the country.
The newly appointed Director Defence Information, Major General Benjamin Olufemi Sawyerr, who made the appeal, said this is necessary for Nigerians to appreciate the selfless sacrifices of men and women of the AFN towards ensuring peace and unity of the Nation.
Major General Sawyerr made the call on Wednesday, during a media tour in Abuja.
He described the media as a very powerful instrument, with the capacity to coordinate all the elements of national powers to bring about national development.
The DDI urged the media to continue to support and cooperate with the military via positive coverage and reportage of its activities in the quest to move the country in the path of peace and progress.
Maj Gen Sawyerr however expressed his appreciation for the great work the media is doing, acknowledging that whenever the media is against a state, the end result is that the state will fail.
“The concerted efforts of the AFN,” the DDI noted, “has impacted on the mass surrendering of boko haram terrorists who in recent times are surrendering in numbers with their weapons and families.”
The Defence Spokesman said the purpose of the visit was to familiarize himself with stakeholders in the media industry that he would be working closely with in the course of his duty tour as the image maker for the AFN.
“The visit would also enable me build a cordial working relationship and a formal interaction with media executives. We must cultivate the media, we must parley with them, we must see where our areas of difference converge so that we can be able to move the country forward,” he noted.
Meanwhile, during the visit of the DDI to Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) Secretariat, the President and Chairman of the Council, Mallam Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo assured the AFN of the Institute’s readiness to partner and support the AFN in discharging it’s constitutional duties to the citizens and the nation at large.
He promised to further protect the mutual interest that has existed between the institute and the military spokespersons.
